Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

Anybody know if the arena at Notre Dame is "cold"?

Further, will O'Brien's (the club in the arena) be accessible (with, we presume, a $20.00 guest membership that it appears are usually available) for this event? We are sitting right by it, it appears, too.

The CFIA is actually pretty comfortable (but I always wear a hoodie and jersey...). Don't wear a t-shirt and you'll be fine.

As for O'Brien's...there is nothing available for Saturday and there are a few pairs available for Sunday. You could try your luck when you get there Saturday to see if any season ticket holders have turned in their tickets to open up seats. You can buy tickets at the arena for Sunday's game. You'd have to either eat the cost of the tickets you have and pay the additional $80 per person for O'Brien's entry (free food/pop, cash bar, seats in the boxes), or you could return your tickets to buy O'Brien's seats. While the seats are nice and the food is decent, IMHO it is not worth $80 a person. Find any seat (or any SRO table on the main level or mezzanine) in the mezzanine for a fourth the cost, bring in a can of pop (free, and in a coat pocket, of course) and buy some chicken strips and fries ($8) and you'll have just as good for a LOT less. (O'Brien's is where the women with purses they want to show off and men in sport coats go to "watch" the game.)

[Red Cows]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

I'm glad at least one school is bringing a decent crowd. That's good to hear. I wish Notre Dame would have offered a refund to season ticket holders for tickets to sell to other fans. Perhaps that would have been one way to get a few more people in. I really hope there aren't a bunch of people looking for tickets and getting shut out since nearly half the arena was sold last summer to season ticket holders. Notre Dame missing the tournament has the potertial to make the university look bad for a completely different reason if that happens.

Bizarre story just related to me by the UNO ticket office. The NCAA overnighted tickets to them on Monday and they arrived at about 11:30 A.M. on Tuesday.They only physically had them in their possession for a few hours. UNO drew their allotment and many fans, like myself, picked up tickets on Tuesday afternoon, while they still had them.

Then, they got a call from the NCAA asking they return (to South Bend) everything they had (read:still had left), which they did. The NCAA apparently wasn't saying why, either. Interestingly, this coincides, I think, with the appearance of tickets for sale on Notre Dame's own ticket portal.

I don't know what to make of this and neither did the ticket office personnel. They thought it was just as strange as I did. I do know that ALL tickets are sold in the sections that were allotted to UNO and that the bus junket (100 fans by itself, that came out of the allotment) sold out. I was also assured that the tickets I hold would be honored.

Something odd seems to be going on here, which they acknowledged. Notre Dame's portal also shows all seats in the sections earmarked for RIT as being sold out as well. Not so Harvard or Minnesota State.

[SCSU BlackandRed]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

Actually, that's pretty accurate. Let's add to it that Atlantic Hockey hardly ever gets home OOC games. RIT is a rare exception as they had 2 (3 if you count the Blue Cross Arena game).

The problem with any ranking system is that there are too few OOC games to get good data. When there are less than 70 OOC games for a conference, that severely limits opportunities to compare teams. That St. Cloud State was on the verge of being in the tournament in spite of barely being over .500 should show that. I will admit - maybe they are that good but their record is hampered by playing in strong conference, but I suspect they should not have been in any serious discussion of at large berths, yet the only thing that stopped that was the discussion of if they would be over .500.

First, best of luck to all the teams in this region. I'm pulling for the Purple Cows as the girlfriend went there, they've had a great season, it's a Minnesota school and the oWCHA affiliation. Pulling for the Red Cows of UNO behind them due to being a NCHC mate and think they deserve some tourney success for all they've suffered in the past. And they are good as well and will benefit from Massa and Zombo being back on the ice.

Second, say what you want about the PWR, it is what they use to determine the field and that puts SCSU in the field. I've seen many say the KRACH is a better system, well SCSU would be safely in at #9. So rather than dismissing them as unworthy, I'd say take a little closer look at the body of work.

Their issue all year was getting sweeps. They'd win Friday (most of the time) and then lose Saturday. Consistency was an issue. They beat (and lost) to some high quality opponents. OOC wins against the B1G regular season and tourney champ as well as the ECAC regular season champ. Two wins each against the NCHC regular season and tourney champs.

Conference play was a nightmare as it was against tough competition pretty much every week. Consider this, unlike many other conferences there is really only one, maybe two bottom feeders in the NCHC and SCSU only played 6 games against the ones we have, going 4-1-1 in those with two blowout wins against the conference doormat of CC. Western Michigan was the other one and BTW, they were 8-5 OOC.

If you think just sheer wins are more important than who you play, well, drop in some conference teams that are just above the bottom two in each and I'll bet you could change out 4 losses for wins and then you're looking at a 23-14-1 team and the whole ".500 team issue" goes away quickly.

Say what you want about the "overrated" NCHC but they put up a 53-25-4 OOC record. Only 5 of those wins (out of 7 games) came against the AHA. Next best is HE at 62-43-9 with 15 wins (out of 17 games) against the AHA. It's a tough conference. Drop the top 6 into any other conference and they would all be upper division with the top 2 challenging for titles.

Again, best of luck to all and here's to some great hockey this weekend.

[MavsFan19]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

Minnesota State has been burned in the past by the pairwise but I really do think that it pushes schools to have to think about their schedules and schedule accordingly. Plus as for "weaker" conferences, many 2 years ago labeled the WCHA as such, claiming inferior teams. Now we have the #1 and #7 and #16 in the pairwise. There is no perfect system but Id rather have this then nothing. Id hate to go all year w/o any knowledge of where teams stand and leave it to 5 people in a room to decide seeds and location. That allows for bias, this is purely mathmatical which I prefer. Granted not perfect but at least everyone knows what they need to do.

This weekend should be great. Im interested to see the turnout for MSU, Im not hopefull that it will be great but I do think we have the benefit of UNO who for the most part I think might cheer for us. Who knows. One the road in 4 hours for South Bend.

As for thet tickets, when I ordered mine monday from MSUM, the athletic office always told us they would be at will call. We never had the option of getting them in hand which i like because Im that guy who forget to pack things. Safer this way

[Skate79]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

Bizarre story just related to me by the UNO ticket office. The NCAA overnighted tickets to them on Monday and they arrived at about 11:30 A.M. on Tuesday.They only physically had them in their possession for a few hours. UNO drew their allotment and many fans, like myself, picked up tickets on Tuesday afternoon, while they still had them.

Then, they got a call from the NCAA asking they return (to South Bend) everything they had (read:still had left), which they did. The NCAA apparently wasn't saying why, either. Interestingly, this coincides, I think, with the appearance of tickets for sale on Notre Dame's own ticket portal.

I don't know what to make of this and neither did the ticket office personnel. They thought it was just as strange as I did. I do know that ALL tickets are sold in the sections that were allotted to UNO and that the bus junket (100 fans by itself, that came out of the allotment) sold out. I was also assured that the tickets I hold would be honored.

Something odd seems to be going on here, which they acknowledged. Notre Dame's portal also shows all seats in the sections earmarked for RIT as being sold out as well. Not so Harvard or Minnesota State.

I have yet to attend a regional (and I've been going for 25 years) where I couldn't get a ticket last minute. This one might be different as it is at a campus location but we (Harvard) don't travel well so I expect there to be quite a few tickets in our section available for those of you who want to harass us endlessly. Hoping the band makes it out there as we have no other athletic teams playing around here this weekend.

I can't make it out due to family commitments this weekend but I'll be sneaking a peak at my iPad every few minutes on Saturday night. Hope everyone has a great time. These events are great fun no matter your college affiliation.

[komey1]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

Second, say what you want about the PWR, it is what they use to determine the field and that puts SCSU in the field. I've seen many say the KRACH is a better system, well SCSU would be safely in at #9. So rather than dismissing them as unworthy, I'd say take a little closer look at the body of work.

Their issue all year was getting sweeps. They'd win Friday (most of the time) and then lose Saturday. Consistency was an issue. They beat (and lost) to some high quality opponents. OOC wins against the B1G regular season and tourney champ as well as the ECAC regular season champ. Two wins each against the NCHC regular season and tourney champs.

Conference play was a nightmare as it was against tough competition pretty much every week. Consider this, unlike many other conferences there is really only one, maybe two bottom feeders in the NCHC and SCSU only played 6 games against the ones we have, going 4-1-1 in those with two blowout wins against the conference doormat of CC. Western Michigan was the other one and BTW, they were 8-5 OOC.

If you think just sheer wins are more important than who you play, well, drop in some conference teams that are just above the bottom two in each and I'll bet you could change out 4 losses for wins and then you're looking at a 23-14-1 team and the whole ".500 team issue" goes away quickly.

Say what you want about the "overrated" NCHC but they put up a 53-25-4 OOC record. Only 5 of those wins (out of 7 games) came against the AHA. Next best is HE at 62-43-9 with 15 wins (out of 17 games) against the AHA. It's a tough conference. Drop the top 6 into any other conference and they would all be upper division with the top 2 challenging for titles.

I just want to make this clear - PWR/KRACH is better than just having a committee pick who they THINK are the best teams for an at-large. If that says St. Cloud deserves to be there, I have no problems with the system. I have not seen St. Cloud play, so I don't know if they that good or not.

Here is what I DO think. I think St. Cloud got partial credit simply by being in the NCHC in a year they dominated OOC. Opponent's winning percentage counts in the RPI, and is primarily your conference. Yes, St. Cloud played some good non-conference opponents, but boosting the conference winning percentage is a factor. Case in point, when Niagara received an at large bid from Atlantic Hockey 2 years ago, their OOC record was better than usual (approx. .350) and the biggest part was that they built up a nice record against a first year Penn State team. I contend that if the NCHC had an OOC similar to Hockey East's OOC, the Huskies would be on a lot shakier ground if not out.

I looked at St. Cloud's record. They have some high quality wins. But to me, winning percentage still means something. I wish them the best of luck though.

[lmg6841]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

Clearly we should just get rid of all conferences, create randomized schedules, and rely on the fact that PWR will be slightly more accurate. Just slightly though.

[SCSU BlackandRed]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

I just want to make this clear - PWR/KRACH is better than just having a committee pick who they THINK are the best teams for an at-large. If that says St. Cloud deserves to be there, I have no problems with the system. I have not seen St. Cloud play, so I don't know if they that good or not.

Here is what I DO think. I think St. Cloud got partial credit simply by being in the NCHC in a year they dominated OOC. Opponent's winning percentage counts in the RPI, and is primarily your conference. Yes, St. Cloud played some good non-conference opponents, but boosting the conference winning percentage is a factor. Case in point, when Niagara received an at large bid from Atlantic Hockey 2 years ago, their OOC record was better than usual (approx. .350) and the biggest part was that they built up a nice record against a first year Penn State team. I contend that if the NCHC had an OOC similar to Hockey East's OOC, the Huskies would be on a lot shakier ground if not out.

I looked at St. Cloud's record. They have some high quality wins. But to me, winning percentage still means something. I wish them the best of luck though.

Hear what you are saying. IF they had an OOC RECORD like HE, they would be on shaky ground. But if they played the HE OOC schedule, they would likely have an even higher win percentage. Would have been 10 more games against the AHA and 11 more games against the B1G, two conferences the NCHC completely dominated this year.

And had SCSU been in HE, they wouldn't have a below .500 conference record.

Getting closer to hockey time...

[Red Cows]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

This weekend should be great. Im interested to see the turnout for MSU, Im not hopefull that it will be great but I do think we have the benefit of UNO who for the most part I think might cheer for us. Who knows. One the road in 4 hours for South Bend.

As for thet tickets, when I ordered mine monday from MSUM, the athletic office always told us they would be at will call. We never had the option of getting them in hand which i like because Im that guy who forget to pack things. Safer this way

I guarantee you UNO fans that are there for the first game will be rooting for Mankato. I don't think there is even any question about that.

Will call? I don't really like it, particularly if there is a crazy line. I like having mine in hand. Possession is 9/10th of the law, you know.

Out the door in the 2 hours for us.

[lmg6841]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

I guarantee you UNO fans that are there for the first game will be rooting for Mankato. I don't think there is even any question about that.

Right, because they much rather play MSU than RIT. . .

[Red Cows]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

Right, because they much rather play MSU than RIT. . .

Read back through the whole thread and you'll see why. I'm serious. You have to beat "everyone" to win the title, anyway. We're not "scared" of the Purple Cows, really, either. We split with them earlier in the year and led most of the game we lost to them. I wish Mike Hastings well, as does, probably, every UNO fan, but, not at OUR expense.

Out the door to South Bend for us! (well as far as the Quad Cities tonight, anyway)

[blazer777]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

Clearly we should just get rid of all conferences, create randomized schedules, and rely on the fact that PWR will be slightly more accurate. Just slightly though.

Are you suggesting the RPS method? (Rock, Paper, Scissors?)

[Red Cows]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

Overnighting in the Quad Cities with the Mrs. on the way to South Bend.

Preview of this weekend from UNO Athletics replete with Coach Blais scoring on Ryan Massa in practice on a couple "penalty shots". Coach Blais also says the game is "sold out". We'll see about that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Dl...ature=youtu.be

[Red Cows]

Re: Midwest Regional: Minnesota State, Nebraska-Omaha, Harvard, RIT

The Omaha World Herald is reporting today that Dominic Zombo is likely going to play and will center UNO's 4th line.

Tidbit of the day.

UNO owns regular-season victories over three of the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament and have beaten two of the other No. 2 seeds.

[MavHockey14]

I guarantee you UNO fans that are there for the first game will be rooting for Mankato. I don't think there is even any question about that.

Will call? I don't really like it, particularly if there is a crazy line. I like having mine in hand. Possession is 9/10th of the law, you know.

Out the door in the 2 hours for us.

I'm headed to campus around 1, getting my tickets, then heading to the pregame party with no worries on the wait for tickets.